Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Secretary of the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Appeal Committee for the Edo State governorship primary election, Dr Kayode Ajulo, has called for the setting up of an administrative tribunal to address the grievances of party members.
Ajulo, who also called for an amendment to the party’s constitution, urged leaders of the party to take urgent measures to ensure that the crisis rocking the ruling party is resolved.
This was contained in a letter dated July 1 addressed to the Governor of Yobe State, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni, the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee.
Dr Ajulo reminded the party of the harms caused when meritorious claims go unaddressed due to systematic inequalities or lack of adequate mechanisms for members of the party to vent their grievances.
In the letter also addressed to President Mohammadu Buhari, the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and other leaders of the party, the former National Secretary of the Labour Party said a crisis in such a big and ruling party is unexpected but it is an open secret that leaders and members alike of the APC have expressed their displeasures and agony over the lack or unavailability of an adequate mechanism to vent their grievances.
He gave an instance of the predicament of Senator Lawali Shuaibu, the former Deputy National Chairman, North, who had complained about being sidelined in the decision making of the party without appropriate channels to address his concerns.
‘While acknowledging Mr President’s recommendations and the decision of the National Executive Committee of the Party to dissolve the National Working Committee and approving the immediate discontinuation of all pending litigations involving the party and its members, Your Excellency, I am inclined to admonish that castigating members of a political party for trying to vent their grievances in a court of competent jurisdiction where there is no adequate provision and procedures in the party’s Constitution is unfair and amount to an unjust denial of fair hearing,’ Ajulo stated.
The constitutional lawyer, who was recently appointed the Secretary of the Appeal Committee for the Edo State Governorship Primary Election, said he discovered that there are no constitutional mechanisms in place to guide the modality for venting grievances by any aggrieved aspirants in the party.
”The Committee was compelled to draft guidelines/practice directions for the effective realisation of its mandate.
”It is thereby recommended that there should be an amendment of the Party’s Constitution and an Administrative Tribunal should be set up to hear and determine any grievance of any aggrieved member of the party. Members of such Tribunal should include past judicial officers, Arbitrators and Political technocrats who are without any political bias,’ he said in the letter.